


Not Like This

by Drabbles_by_Del



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Endgame, Post-Endgame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-02-16 06:55:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drabbles_by_Del/pseuds/Drabbles_by_Del
Summary: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME, DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIE/DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS. Plot is in AN. Also posted under my account on fanfic . net





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So don't get me wrong. I loved Endgame, but the ending just made me really sad, and I felt like they really could have done something else to help Tony survive. I don't actually know the logistics of a lot of stuff like this, but I'm gonna run with it XD
> 
> So as it said in the description, plot is right here.
> 
> Just a small deviation from where the movie ended. I'll follow canon as close as possible, but I just had to get my slightly altered ending started.
> 
> Also, this is a WIP story, one of the few that I've done. I'm in the second chapter right now, but I just started a new job and am getting a lot of training on that, so hopefully I can write when I'm not at work or binging How I Met Your Mother for the first time XD

Peter stared in shock at the scene in front of him. Tony was on the ground, his entire left side charred from using the stones, and Pepper was kneeling in front of him. Peter's whole body shook as he fought to hold back his emotions. He watched Pepper lean forward and plant one last trembling kiss against her husband's cheek, and then Iron Man let out one last exhalation before the last spark of light faded from his eyes.

The teenager could barely hold himself up as he stared at the man who had changed his life so drastically. It couldn't be … he couldn't just die … he was Tony Stark. Nothing was supposed to be able to hurt him …

He stumbled backwards, and felt his knees start to buckle, but a pair of strong arms gripped his shoulders from behind before he could fall. The strong grip made Peter's ribs ache, but it wasn't because of the tightness. The teenager had taken several hits to the chest, and the pain was now starting to catch up to him. Peter didn't care though. As he stared at the lifeless eyes of his mentor, he couldn't stop picturing the look of pure relief on Mr. Stark's face when he and Peter met on the battlefield. The feeling of Mr. Stark's arms wrapping him into one of the tightest hugs Peter had ever experienced. Peter wanted that strong embrace back.

No one spoke for what seemed like hours. In reality, it was only a few seconds. Then, a voice Peter had only heard in recordings spoke. The accent was unmistakable, even though it was huskier with the onslaught of tears.

"Not like this."

A man stepped forward, and if Peter hadn't recognized the accent before, he wouldn't have realized it was Thor moving towards Mr. Stark. The god's hair and beard were much thicker and longer than Peter ever remembered seeing them, and there was something about his build that seemed … off. With the armor the Norse god had on, Peter couldn't tell exactly what was different. Whatever the case, he knew that those thoughts weren't important at the moment.

"Thor."

That was Captain America, and the voice came from right behind Peter. The young man looked behind him and realized that the strong arms that were holding him upright belonged to the Captain. There were tears in his eyes as he stared at the fallen Avenger. "Thor. There's nothing you can do. He's gone."

"I will not allow another friend to die … not if there's … not if there's something I can try." The god's voice shook as he knelt down next to Mr. Stark and placed a hand on his chest. Pepper watched the bearded man, an almost protective look in her eyes. Thor looked at her.

"Pepper. I need you to step back."

"No. I'm staying with him."

"Pepper, please. I promise, I am trying to help him."

"I know. But you're not doing it without me right here."

"Please-" Thor looked into Pepper's eyes, and he saw the determination and stubbornness there. After a moment, he heaved a huge sigh. "Very well." With that, the god turned his attention back to Iron Man and closed his eyes.

Peter felt it before he saw anything. It was like the air around him suddenly became electric, the particles rubbing together faster and faster until electricity began firing around them. Peter's eyes were swollen from crying and he felt like he could barely see out of them, but the faster the electricity buzzed, the faster Peter's eyes dried, and he stared in shock and awe at something he'd only dreamt about seeing in real life.

Suddenly, Thor opened his eyes, and simultaneously pushed on Tony's chest like he was performing CPR. A bolt of electricity arced out from the god's fingers and ran across Tony's armor plate. Peter didn't realize he was holding his breath as he watched for any sign of life in his mentor.

Nothing.

Again, Thor compressed on Tony's chest and sent sparks flying across the armor. Peter could physically feel the tension coming from everyone around him, and he felt Captain America's grip tighten on his shoulder ever so slightly.

Nothing.

The tears began welling in Peter's eyes again as he felt his last few specks of hope being blown away.

"Come on, Stark," Peter heard Thor mutter. The whisper was garbled, and Peter watched as a few tears dripped down the god's nose and softly plopped on the red and gold armor. Once again, Thor shocked Tony's armor. Peter could feel the crackling in the dry air from that one: it was the biggest surge yet.

Once again though, nothing happened, and Thor sat back on his haunches, shoulders shaking with sobs. Pepper pressed her lips together and bowed her head, trying to hide the quivering in her own face as tears slipped down her cheeks as well. She placed one hand on Thor's shoulder, trying to provide comfort for the god. Her other hand she kept interlaced with Tony's fingers.

Peter's chin wobbled as he watched the exchange, and more tears slipped down the teenager's face. Steve's arm wound its way across Peter's chest until it reached the opposite side that it started on, pressing the kid into the Captain's chest. Peter clutched at the arm like it was a life preserver. In some aspects, it was. It was the only thing keeping him in an upright position.

"I got you, Queens," Cap muttered, his voice thick.

Peter had only felt this way twice before in his life: once when he heard his parents were dead, and then again when Uncle Ben died. After his uncle, Peter had hoped he was through saying goodbye to people he loved.

There was a solemn silence as everyone bowed their heads in respect for Tony Stark, the man who sacrificed everything to ensure the safety of everyone else.

Suddenly, Pepper looked up.

"Tony?"

It was so quiet, Peter barely heard it. When he looked at the redhead, she was staring at her husband, confusion in her eyes mixed with something else. Hope.

"Pepper?" Steve asked.

"I … I thought he …" She didn't finish her reply. Instead, she took her hand off Thor's shoulder. The metal peeled away, revealing her hands. Hesitantly, she placed two fingers against Tony's neck and waited for what seemed like hours. It was only a few seconds though, before she looked at Thor, then back at Captain America and Peter.

"Rhodey, Steve!"

Captain America immediately moved forward, letting go of Peter at the same time as he moved to join War Machine as they hurried over to Pepper and Thor. Peter fell flat on his butt, but he didn't care. The only thing he was focused on were the five adults in front of him.

Steve placed his own fingers under Tony's nose, and after a beat, he turned to Pepper and Thor. "We need to get him medical attention. Now."

Without hesitation, Pepper leaned forward and slipped her arms underneath Tony's prone form. She immediately took to the skies along with Thor. Cap turned to the Hulk.

"We could use your help—"

"Say no more."

Peter started in slight shock at the literacy of the Hulk, but ignored it as the big green guy leapt away, not quite catching up to Rescue and Thor but closing the distance a considerable amount.

Now Cap looked back at Rhodes. They didn't even need a spoken conversation before War Machine grabbed Cap around the waist and took off.

Peter watched, almost too numb to do anything. Almost. After a moment he stood and backed up a few paces. Everyone was still watching the people in the sky, but a few heads turned to watch the teenager curiously.

With enough ground to gain some good momentum, Peter ran. He ran faster than he'd ever run before. His legs pumped underneath him, and when he had enough speed, Peter took one last stride, intending to fire a web and swing after the rapidly disappearing Avengers. That isn't how it happened though. With his last step, Peter collapsed to the ground. "What the he-" Peter shook his head and tried to stand up again, but he couldn't make it to a standing position. The highest he could get was his hands and knees. The pain in his ribs from before came back full force, and he found himself gasping for breath as the pain spiked.

"Hey, kid." Peter glanced back to see the woman from before, the shiny one with the short haircut. She gently grabbed his arm and hoisted him up. "Come on," she said. "I got you."

Peter knew something was wrong when getting to his feet made something shift inside his body, but he tried to fight it. "Mr. Stark," Peter replied breathlessly. "I have to … he can't … I-" He stopped speaking as his vision began swimming. Nothing around him felt stable, and his knees buckled again

"Hey," the newcomer said. "Kid, you okay?"

Peter thought he responded, but he realized apparently he either didn't respond, or his response just made the woman more concerned.

"Hold on, kid," she said. "We're gonna get you some help." She began glowing, and Peter felt his feet leave the ground. Those were the last things he experienced before he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Darkness. That's all Peter knew. It filled his nose, his ears, and his mouth. It began snaking its way down his throat, forcing the teenager to gag, but he couldn't even do that. The taste in his mouth was disgusting. It tasted like ash. He knew what ash tasted like because of all the burnt meals he and May tried cooking together. May. The thought of his aunt helped calm his nerves a little, and he focused more on her. He couldn't see her, or even picture her, thanks to the darkness permeating everything, but he could smell … he could smell something. Her perfume. She never wore much, but the smell of her vanilla perfume was enough to start clearing out the ash in his nose. Her rich, full laugh began to clear his ears. There was something missing. He still couldn't see her, and it made him begin to panic.

Peter tried to raise his arms, but for some reason, his motor functions remained stubbornly stagnant. He tried anything to get his body to move. Thrashing, running in place, even sit ups. Nothing helped.

Thinking of May helped get the process somewhat started, but it was like the ash became adjusted to May's presence and changed itself accordingly. Peter began to lose grip on reality again, but then another scent, another voice, broke through the darkness. The sharp, tangy scent of metal from a workshop, covered by the crisp, cool scent of linen from an outrageously expensive suit.

"Oh. Mr. Parker."

"It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?"

"So. You're the spider … ling."

"If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it."

"Kid? Where did you come from?"

"Help! Get over here, she can't hold him much longer."

"You're alright."

Suddenly Peter's world exploded with sensations. He could move. He could hear. He could smell. The ash wasn't forcing its way inside him anymore. Best of all, when Peter opened his eyes, he found that he could see. Whatever terrible dream he must have been experiencing, it was over. He was awake now. The scene around him looked familiar, and after a few seconds, Peter remembered he was in space, on Titan.

The teenager looked around, drawing in a deep breath through his nose, grateful that the ash wasn't suffocating him anymore. He tried to find Mr. Stark, but the billionaire wasn't there.

"Mr. -" Peter coughed before he could even finish the first word, and he was slightly shocked at how dry and raspy his throat was. He tried swallowing some saliva to coat his throat a little, then tried again. "Mr. Stark?"

"Peter."

That voice was unexpected. The teenager turned sharply and found Dr. Strange staring at him. "There's no time to explain, but we need to go now. It's been five years. Tony and the others need our help."

"Five … five years? What?" Peter was still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. How was Strange here? Peter could have sworn he saw the wizard disappearing in a puff of smoke, or … ash?

"What happened?" Peter asked. He watched Dr. Strange open his mouth, but suddenly-

Peter's eyes opened and he shot up in bed, gasping for air and clutching at his chest as it throbbed in pain. Frantically, Peter glanced around. He wasn't on Titan. Wasn't outside. Where was he? His breathing became shorter and shorter as he fought with the machines and their cords anchoring him to the bed. Finally he yanked the last cord from himself and he was free. He practically fell off the thin mattress and onto the cold, hard floor.

Even though the pain in his body made him hiss, he didn't stop moving. He didn't quite know why; he just had to get out of that room.

The teenager stumbled down the hallway, ignoring the people he passed, even though they were yelling at him to stop. Everyone who tried to grab him, he simply shook off. Until finally, he wasn't able to.

"Woah," said the woman from before as she caught him by the arm. Peter tried yanking his arm out of her grasp. He almost succeeded, but she tightened her grip at the last moment and managed to hang on. "Kid!' she said. "Kid, what is going on? I leave you for like two minutes and you try to pull a disappearing act on me?"

Peter pulled against the woman's grip again, and this time she let him go. "Where am I? What happened? Where's Mr. Sta-" Peter choked on the name as he realized the implications of his question. He remembered watching the life go out of his mentor's eyes, remembered the crushing feeling of despair at the realization of what happened, and then feeling the small spark of hope when Thor brought him back to life. Honestly, Peter wasn't sure if he could handle the truth if it meant that Mr. Stark had died again.

The woman seemed to understand his hesitation. "He's hangin' in there, kid. It's been touch and go, but the big green guy is working overtime to make sure he's got everything he needs. You, Tony, and anyone else injured in the battle are here at big green's lab."

Peter nodded shakily. His exhale sounded like he was trying to whistle but couldn't quite form the sound, instead coming out just as a high-pitched, warbled breath. While trying to control his emotions and his breathing, the teenager didn't notice the worried look the woman gave him.

"Hey." She put her hand on his shoulder. "It's Peter, right? Peter Parker?"

With a shaky nod, Peter shifted his gaze from the floor up to the woman. She smiled at him.

"Well, I'm Carol. Danvers." With one hand still on his shoulder, she offered her other hand, which Peter accepted before letting his gaze drop to the floor, trying to hide his tears. "Hey," Carol said again after Peter looked back at the floor. "Peter, look at me." After a moment, the teenager looked back at her. "He's a fighter, kid."

"I … I know, but I just … he had so much … so much to live for. He has to … he has to make it …"

Carol squeezed Peter's shoulder. "If anyone can, it's him. You know him better than I do, so if I know that, you've got to know it too."

Before Peter could respond, he heard a voice he didn't realize he'd been longing to hear for so long.

"Peter?"

The teenager turned around and saw the one constant in his life standing at the end of the hallway. When he saw the short, Italian woman, long hair in a messy braid standing at the end of the hallway, he let out a soft whimper.

"May."

His aunt began practically sprinting down the hall, skirting around the few doctors and nurses in the hallway. Carol released Peter's shoulder and the teenager also ran towards his aunt, ignoring the twinges of pain in his chest as he ran.

The two collided halfway down the hall. Peter felt his ribs protest the pressure from his aunt's hug, but nothing was going to make him let her go. And he knew that nothing would make her let him go. Probably ever again, if he was being honest with himself.

"You're here. You're here," May kept whispering, trying to wrap her arms around Peter more than she already was. She kept repeating the phrase, and Peter had the feeling she was trying to assure herself that it was real. That he was real.

Peter felt like a rock was stuck in his throat. "I'm here, May. I'm so … I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she whispered. Peter's whole body shook as he finally broke down and began to cry. "It's okay," May muttered, pulling her nephew in tighter. "You're okay."

Neither of them noticed when Carol silently slipped down the hallway.

Finally after several more minutes of their hug, May finally pulled back from Peter slightly. Just enough to brush his hair gently away from his face to examine his injuries. Peter tried not to wince as she lightly brushed his black eye, but she caught the movement anyway.

"Peter, what are you doing out of bed?" she asked gently.

Peter sniffed, wincing as his bruised nose vibrated with the incoming air. "I uh … I had to pee." He definitely didn't want to tell her that waking up alone freaked him out more than he cared to admit, even to himself.

"Wasn't there a bathroom in your room?"

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't look around hard enough."

May stared at her nephew critically, knowing that he was keeping something from her, but to the teenager's immense relief, she decided not to press the issue. Instead, she got to her feet and then helped her nephew up.

"Come on," she said gently. "You're going back to bed."

"I'm fine, May," Peter insisted, even though he knew he was a far cry from fine. Those alien dogs had really done a number on him. He just didn't want his aunt to worry.

"I'll believe that when I hear a doctor say it."

That made Peter wonder. He looked around and indeed spotted a few doctors and nurses going in and out of certain rooms.

"May, how … how did you get here? How did you find me?"

"Mr. Stark's assistant. Oh … What was his name? It was like one of the seven dwarves?"

"Happy?"

"That was it, Happy! When I realized people had come back, I started calling your phone, but you didn't answer. That was right before the explosion. It was all over the news, but no one wanted to get close enough to get decent footage. I knew if you were anywhere, it was there. I was calling anyone I could to try and figure out what was going on. Finally Happy called me back. He wasn't sure where you were, but he said the battle was over and anyone injured in the battle was being taken somewhere special. He picked me up and brought me here."

"I'm surprised you didn't try to come fight with us," Peter said, only mostly joking.

"Believe me, I started walking upstate," May replied. Peter couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

They finally reached Peter's room, and May forced her nephew to climb back into the bed. "You stay here while I go find a doctor," she instructed, pinning the teenager with a look that said he didn't want to know the consequences if he left the bed again. "I'll get them to bring you some other clothes too."

With a start, Peter looked down and realized that he was indeed in a thin pair of hospital pants and a shirt of the same material. At least it wasn't one of those backless gowns.

After May left, Peter stayed in bed like she'd told him. It was too quiet though. He kept expecting something to happen, some explosion to rock their world, some new attack. He honestly had a hard time believing that Thanos was really gone. The teenager wanted to relax, but found it more and more difficult to do so. The longer the peace went on, the more tense he became, waiting for the other shoe to drop. That's why, when a doctor accidentally dropped a clipboard right outside the teenager's room, he let out a short shout and jumped out of bed, ready to fight again. That was a mistake.

The sudden movement jarred the kid's injured chest, and he fell to his knees. The doctor outside the room swore and came inside.

"Sorry about that, kid. C'mon, let's get you back in bed."

As soon as the doctor put his hand on Peter's shoulder, the teenager reacted instinctively, throwing himself forward and kicking out with his feet as he rolled. The doctor let out a grunt as Peter's feet grazed him, but thankfully he'd seen the attack coming and was able to mostly get out of the way. He was still forced backward, knocking the whiteboard next to Peter's bed off the wall.

"Kid, kid, I'm not going to hurt you," the doctor said, making sure to stay out of Peter's reach. The teenager snapped out of his phase and realized what he had done.

"Oh go-I'm so sorry," he said, standing up and trying to reach for the doctor. As he moved though, his ribs reminded him once again that they were injured, and he faltered, clutching at his chest instead.

The doctor immediately moved forward, though he was careful to stay in sight of the teenager at all times so that Peter wouldn't freak out again.

"Sorry," the doctor said. "That was my fault. I should have realized you would still be in the fight or flight mode."

Slowly, gently, the doctor put his hand under Peter's elbow and helped the teenager get to his feet. As Peter walked over to the bed and gingerly climbed back on the mattress, the doctor looked at the clipboard he'd dropped.

"Looks like you're the one I'm actually here to see," the doctor said, looking back at his patient. He held out his hand. "I'm Doctor Erikson."

Peter took the offered hand. "Peter."

"Peter?" May walked back into the room and looked between the doctor and the teenager. "Are you okay?" She glanced at the whiteboard on the ground and raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Everything's fine, ma'am. I take it you're his …?"

"Aunt. I'm his legal guardian."

Erikson looked at Peter, who nodded in confirmation. Satisfied that he could speak freely, the doctor folded his hands over themselves.

"Well Peter, it looks like you took quite the beating. Several broken ribs, a minor fracture along your radius, along with a moderate concussion. You were at the fight?"

"Yeah … yeah, I was there. Listen, can you tell me how Mr. Stark is?"

"Peter," May lightly scolded.

"Sorry Peter. My priority right here, right now, is you. I can't talk about other patients anyway. I'm not even assigned to be in the same room with Mr. Stark. Let's focus on you right now. Follow my finger." The doctor held up his finger and moved it in front of Peter's eyes. The teenager did as instructed, but he wasn't giving up just yet.

"Could I at least see him?"

The doctor set his penlight down and crossed his arms, staring at Peter in mild exasperation. May shared the same look.

Peter stared back at them as meekly as he could. "Please?"

Dr. Erikson rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I can't promise you anything, Peter. Like I said, I'm not even allowed down there. So how about this? I'll see what I can do, but I'm not making any promises. Deal?"

"Deal." Peter nodded once, and allowed the doctor to finish his exam. It was more than likely unintentional, but the doctor had let Peter know that Mr. Stark was somewhere "down there." Now the teenager at least knew what level Mr. Stark was on. He wasn't planning on waiting for permission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmkay, what did you all think? Did it hold up okay to the previous chapter, or should I have just left it at chapter 1? XD Sorry, I also know not a lot happened in this chapter, but things should be picking up soon. I'm still trying to decide where to take this story, and how long to make it, so any input on either of those would be appreciated :)
> 
> Lemme know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters don't belong to me

May had gone, albeit reluctantly, to get her and Peter some food. She was hesitant to leave him alone, and Peter had a feeling she was worried he was going to disappear again. If he could play it right though, May wouldn't have to come back to an empty room, and the note he was now scrawling on the pad of paper next to his bed wouldn't be needed.

Once he finished the note, the teenager wasted no time in throwing off the covers and climbing out of the bed. He still had to move slowly and carefully to avoid jostling his broken ribs, but he was determined not to let anything stop him. He had to see for himself that Mr. Stark was still alive.

His plan worked up until he got to the elevator. The mechanical doors opened, he stepped inside, and then was faced with the hard part: getting to the floor Mr. Stark would be on. The teenager figured it was the lowest floor, but when he pushed LL3, a notification popped up, requesting that he place his hand on the screen to provide proof that he had access to that floor.

Hesitantly, the teenager placed his hand on the scanner. Not surprisingly, the panel turned red, and a big DENIED flashed across the screen.

"C'mon," he muttered, trying again. DENIED flashed at him again. Suddenly Peter remembered a trick he'd seen in a movie. The teenager glanced between the palm reader and his hand. "Can't hurt to try," he said with a shrug. He pulled his thin hospital shirt up slightly so that he was able to stick his hand, fingers fully extended, into the shirt, which he then placed on the reader. The scanner took a little longer before it flashed DENIED at him again.

Peter was getting twitchy. May was only going to be gone for so long, and the longer it took him to get down to Mr. Stark's level, the less time he'd actually have down there—

The elevator door opened unexpectedly, making Peter jump away from the panel. his eyes widened as Steve Rogers limped onto the elevator with him. The Captain was wearing shorts, and Peter could see a white bandage underneath the pants, wrapped around a leg wound the Captain had received fighting Thanos.

Rogers looked just as surprised to see someone else on the elevator. The two of them stared at each other, Steve silently asking a question, Peter desperately trying to look innocent. Trying, but not quite succeeding.

"Kid?"

Peter gave a small salute. "Hey. Hi. Hey, Cap. I was just, uh …"

"Trying to sneak down to see Tony." Steve clearly wasn't asking a question. He knew exactly what Peter was up to, and the teenager figured it was in his best interest to not lie to the super soldier.

"I just have to see him," Peter said, surprised at how husky his voice got as he admitted what he was up to. Slightly mortified at the tears that were welling up in his eyes, Peter quickly rubbed his face, hoping to make it seem like the watery eyes were because he'd poked himself in the eye or something.

"Believe me kid. I get it. You want to make sure someone important to you is safe. Why do you think I risked everything to save Buck from the Nazis?" It was a rhetorical question, because Captain Rogers didn't pause. "I just don't think it's the best idea to see Tony while he's like this."

"I have to."

Peter almost expected the captain to shoot him down again, but after a moment of staring at the teenager intensely, the Captain silently placed his hand on the scanner. The screen flashed green, and the elevator began descending.

The Captain stood still as the lift moved downward, and Peter subtly shifted from side to side.

"Look, kid," Steve said as the elevator came to a halt. "This is gonna be hard to see. Are you sure you want to—"

"Yes."

Steve nodded once curtly, and at that moment, the elevator doors dinged open. "Come on, Queens. He's just down this way."

Peter followed the Captain down a hallway. The lower level had a few doctors wandering the hall, but not nearly as many as Peter was expecting.

"Where is everyone?"

The Captain answered Peter's question, but the teenager didn't actually hear the answer. Everything surrounding him faded away and time seemed to slow down when Peter saw what, or who, he'd snuck out of his room to see.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter moved forward, barely noticing the hand scanner next to the door. Peter stared through the window at the man in the bed.

The billionaire was clearly unconscious, surrounded by huge machines. Some of the machines were familiar, ones that Peter recognized. Some, Peter had only seen in pictures. The rest of them though, Peter hadn't even seen before. Normally, Peter had heard that people look tiny compared to the machines surrounding them, but to the teenager, Tony Stark would always be bigger than any machine. That's just who he was.

"Can I go in?" Peter turned back to Steve, his eyes wide in the hopes he could win some pity points from the Captain, but the soldier shook his head.

"Sorry kid. No one's allowed in there besides the doctors and Banner."

"Please, I just … I need to see him, I need to let him know …"

"Look, kid. I know this is hard, seeing him like this. I don't like it any more than you do. But he's … he's going to pull through. He will. And then you can tell him whatever you need to in person."

Peter had to clench his teeth together to try and stop his jaw from shaking.

"He's always been there for me, I … I want to be there for him." The Captain put his hand on Peter's shoulder.

"He knows you're here, kid. I'm sure he does. Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

"I'm fine." Peter wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

"Mm-hmm. Come on."

Peter didn't fight it as Steve gently steered him towards the elevator again.

The ride back up to Peter's floor was filled with awkward silence, and an occasional sniff from Peter's side of the elevator, though the teenager could have sworn he heard one coming from the Captain's side as well. It was uncomfortable for both of them, so when the elevator doors opened again, Peter turned to the Captain.

"Thanks for uh … thanks for letting me see him," he said. He could feel his eyes welling with tears again, so he turned away before he could cry in front of Captain America, and quickly walked towards his room.

"Hey Queens," Steve called out. Peter quickly wiped his eyes and turned back around. "You did good out there. I know Tony's proud of you."

Peter nodded in thanks, unable to speak thanks to the boulder now lodged in his throat.

Peter stepped into his empty room. Apparently May was still out getting food. The teenager rubbed his arms as his skin became prickly with goosebumps. Why was it so cold? He tried sitting on his bed for a minute, but he was too twitchy. Were the walls getting closer? Why couldn't he get in a deep breath? Why did he suddenly feel like he was in that trash compactor with Luke, Leia, and Han? Peter quickly stood up. He had to get out of the room. Desperately, he lunged for the stand next to his bed, which had his Spider-Man suit tucked into one of the drawers.

With suit in hand, Peter quickly left his room, doing his best to hide the suit under his arms, his shirt, anything he could to avoid drawing attention to himself as he exited the building.

0-0-0

May's hands were full of food and drinks, making it slightly difficult to squeeze between the doctors and nurses. There weren't a lot of staff, but the few that were there were everywhere. After a dozen near-misses with various condiments, white coats, and one nurse's ponytail, May finally made it back to Peter's room.

"Okay," she said as she bumped the door open with her hip and backed in. "Two burgers, two fries, two drinks. And then some food for me too." She chuckled at her joke, but barely had time to wonder why Peter hadn't given his usual courtesy laugh before she turned around and found an empty room.

"Peter?" She put the food down on the bedside table, then noticed one of the drawers partially opened. It was the same drawer that one of the nurses had told them that Peter's suit was in. With a pit forming in her stomach, May pulled the drawer open the rest of the way, praying that she was going to find the suit still in the drawer.

It was not.

"Peter?" May tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but was failing. "Peter!" She hurried out of the room, grabbing each nurse or doctor she passed by.

"Have you seen my nephew? The kid supposed to be in that room?"

Each person she asked told her that no, they hadn't seen the teenager. May was verging on a panic attack. Her breath was coming in short bursts, the room was spinning, and she felt like vomiting, even though she hadn't eaten anything. Right when she was on the verge of having a full-blown freakout, someone put their hand on her shoulder.

"Ma'am?"

May whirled around to see who was talking to her. She had a brief second of stunned silence when she realized it was Captain America, but she found that she didn't care. All she cared about was finding Peter.

"Is something wrong?" the Captain asked.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, trying slightly to not sound mocking. "Is something wrong? Of course something's wrong! Do I look like everything's okay? I'm looking for my nephew! He's missing. I can't find him, I don't know where he's gone, I can't—"

"Okay, breathe," Steve interrupted, looking at May with concern plainly etched on his face. "What's your nephew's name? Why would he be here, not at a hospital?" Steve reached out and grabbed a passing doctor. "Excuse me sir, could you help us find her nephew?"

May shook her head. "What? No! I know he was here, I've been gone less than thirty minutes! I'm looking for Peter Parker!"

A look of recognition passed over Steve's face, and May felt the knot in her chest loosen slightly, until the super soldier spoke.

"I … I just watched Peter go in his room a few minutes ago."

The knot tightened again, and May began breathing faster again. Not quite hyperventilating yet, but it wasn't far away.

"Are you sure he didn't just go to the bathroom?" Steve asked gently.

"The fact that his suit is missing is pretty telling," May snapped. She knew she should feel bad for being so cross, but at the moment, the only thing she cared about was finding her nephew.

Steve's face fell into a concentrated expression. "His suit is missing?"

"Yeah, it was in his bedside table."

Steve let out a whoosh of air. "Okay. I think I know what he's doing. Let's go find him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

"Peter, this isn't a good idea. Your ribs are still injured, and even with your accelerated healing factor, you won't be ready to be active for at least another-"

"Karen, I know, I just … just tell me where to go."

The AI was silent for a moment. Peter briefly wondered if she was really not going to help him, but then she responded. "Turn left in three-hundred feet."

"Thanks, Karen."

Seeing three masked men standing in front of an ATM so soon after the reverse snap normally would have made Peter disappointed in humanity. Right now though, Peter only had one thing on his mind: stop the crime.

He released his web and landed on the ground in his trademark crouch, but when he bent over, his ribs groaned under the pressure, making him falter in his pose with a surprised grunt.

Now aware of his presence, the three robbers spun around, aiming their guns at the masked hero. Peter leapt into the air, avoiding the bullets.

"C'mon guys, you should be out there living life to the fullest with loved ones. I hear that people have been coming back from the dead. Though, depending on context of like, zombie apocalypse and such, that could be good or bad."

The teenager landed on the ground again, firing a web at one of the robber's feet.

"What the—" the robber tried pulling his foot off the ground, but was unable to. Spider-Man easily stole the man's gun and stuck it just out of the man's reach, then did the same to the rest of the robbers and their weapons before anyone could get off any more rounds. Then, just as quickly as he arrived, Peter took off swinging again.

"Karen, get the police to come get these guys and give me another location."

"It would be wise to go back to Dr. Banner's lab," Karen said. AI's didn't have the capacity to argue, but Peter could swear Karen's tone was argumentative.

"Look, Karen, I know what I'm doing, just … get me more things to take care of."

More silence on the AI's part again, and after a few seconds, Peter opened his mouth to give the order again, but at that moment, he heard a scream.

"Nevermind, Karen, I got it."

Peter took off swinging.

"Help!" came the scream again, closer than Peter expected. Close enough that he almost missed the opening to the alley the scream came from. Halfway down the street was a fight between a mugger and a woman, struggling over the woman's purse. Peter dropped to the ground again, but made sure to stay in a fairly upright position this time in an effort to protect his injured chest.

"Hey, hey, hey," Peter said as he approached the struggling couple. The mugger jumped and turned around, letting go of the woman's purse and sending the woman tumbling to the ground. Spider-Man moved to help her up, but she was on her feet before he could even take one step, and was soon running in the opposite direction of the two men. Peter leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Well, I was gonna ask you nicely to let the woman's purse go, but look at you! You're not as dumb as the other people I've stopped today."

"You been gone a while," the man said, backing away from the hero slightly.

"Yeah, don't know if you heard, people are comin' back from five years of being gone. Kinda crazy right?"

"I know. My wife and daughter came back. I got two more mouths to feed now, and no job. I need the money!" Suddenly the mugger pulled out a gun and aimed it at Spider-Man.

"Woah!" Peter held up his hands in a mock surrender. "What do you think I'm gonna be able to do? I got no money." While he was speaking, Peter shot a web at the would-be shooter and pulled the weapon away, sticking it to the wall above the man's head. "You really shouldn't play with guns."

Without missing a beat, the mugger reached behind his back and pulled out a knife, immediately charging Peter. "Wow, you carry two weapons? Gotta admit, I'm impressed." The teenager leapt out of the way as he spoke and fired another web, yanking the knife away from the mugger as well.

"Okay, okay, I get it. You need the help. But dude, there are better ways to make money than mugging people on the street, especially alone."

"Who says I'm alone?" the man asked. Spider-Man looked to his right, then his left.

"Uuh … the empty alleyway? Unless you mean me? Look man, I'm flattered, but I've already got a job, and it's kinda the opposite of what you do. I mean, I-"

Suddenly Peter heard something behind him at the same time that he felt the hair on the back of his neck raise. He hadn't been paying attention to his spidey-senses, since they had a tendency to cry wolf whenever something mildly threatening happened, like a pencil being thrown at the back of his head by Flash. This time though, Peter wished he'd listened.

The teenager turned around in an attempt to fight off whoever was behind him, but something connected with his torso, and suddenly he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest. With a soundless gasp, Peter collapsed to the all fours, unable to support himself. The mugger and his companion ran away, and Peter saw the sunlight flash off another knife in the hands of the newcomer. The teenager tried to get to his feet, but fell back to his hands and knees before he could even get halfway up.

"Karen," he gasped. "Karen, what just … I think I've been stabbed."

"You weren't stabbed, but your vital signs are spiking dangerously high."

"Karen … Karen, I'm … having a hard … time … breathing."

"If my scans are correct, one of your broken ribs has punctured a lung. I'm alerting help now."

"Find me … someone else to help …"

"Peter, you are in no condition to be out here. Immediate medical attention if you want to survive. If I have to, I will put the 'Baby Gate' protocol into effect."

"The … what-now?"

"A protocol implemented by Mr. Stark to insure that if something ever happened to you, you would have to wait for help."

"Yeah, well Mr. Stark won't be coming, will he?" Peter snapped. His burst of anger made him sink down further, his whole body shaking with wracking coughs.

"Peter." Karen's voice sounded maternal. The teenager couldn't decide if that was normal for him to think or not. "You need help."

"No, Karen, I'm the one … who helps. I'm the friendly … neighborhood …" It was getting harder to breathe, thus harder to speak. Despite that, Peter once again tried to get to his feet, intent on thwipping off into the evening to find someone else to help. As soon as he moved though, something happened.

"Initiating 'Baby Gate' protocol," Karen stated.

Peter didn't have a chance to ask once more what that particular protocol was, because almost immediately, the suit's mechanical legs emerged from his back and dug themselves into the ground at Peter's feet.

"What the-" Peter tried pulling out of the ground, but the apendages were stuck fast. Trying to get out of the ground took more effort than Peter was expecting though. The black spots in his vision were getting bigger, blocking out more of his vision, and the teenager started to feel lightheaded. The alley spun, and there was a faint ringing in his ears. It didn't help that it felt like a thousand knives were being stabbed into his chest and lungs.

"Karen … I don't … I can't …"

"Hang on, Peter. Help is almost here."

"Kid?"

That was a voice Peter was becoming more familiar with, but at the moment, he barely had enough energy to lift his head. Steve Rogers was sprinting down the alley towards him.

"What happened?"

"Voice recognition confirmed: Steve Rogers. 'Baby Gate' protocol disengaged." Karen deactivated the mechanical legs, and if the Captain hadn't been there, Peter would have hit the ground.

"I got you, Queens," Steve grunted as he gently helped lower Peter to the ground. "Um, Friday? Jarvis? Suit person?"

"Peter calls me Karen."

"Karen, what happened?"

"One of Peter's broken ribs punctured his lung. Immediate medical attention is required."

"Son of a— kid, what were you thinking?"

"I believe Mr. Parker's chastisement should be saved for a later time, Captain."

The black spots had almost consumed Peter's entire vision by that point. His eyes kept fluttering closed, but he kept forcing himself awake, jerking into a semi-upright position. Each time he did, he let out a garbled gasp.

"Hang on, kid," Steve said. "I got an idea." Rogers pulled out his cell phone. Peter could barely hear what the Captain was saying, but he managed to make out a few words. "Strange … help. Kid … injured … lung … alleyway on uh …"

"31st and 4th," Peter muttered.

"31st and 4th. Hurry." Steve hung up on the wizard, then made one more phone call. "May? … got him. … meet … lab."

Even with his fuzzy senses, Peter dreaded seeing his aunt again. He knew she was going to lose it when he left. He just thought he'd return on slightly more heroic terms. Steve slid his phone back into his pocket, then slipped his hands under Peter's knees and stood up.

Even with the smoothest transition the two heroes could have hoped for, the movement still jostled Peter, and he groaned.

"Sorry kid."

"'S 'kay," Peter muttered back, his eyes floating closed.

Steve looked down at the swiftly fading teenager in his arms. "Kid?" No response. "Queens?" Still nothing. "Peter!" None of his calls made the teenager stir, and Steve could see Peter's breaths getting shorter with each inhalation. Frustrated, the Captain looked around. Where was Strange?

A slight buzzing noise behind him made Steve turn his head, not wanting to shift Peter any more than necessary. The Captain's breath released with a relieved whoosh as Steve watched Strange exit a portal.

"Come on," Strange said impatiently when Rogers kept staring at the portal leading back to the lab. With a small shake of his head, Steve remembered the kid in his arms. The Captain turned to fully face the portal and quickly walked forward, trying to keep the ride as smooth as he could for Peter.

"What happened?" Strange asked as they entered the lab.

"Don't know, I just found him like this. His AI said one of his broken ribs punctured his lung, and that he needed help now."

Seemingly out of nowhere, a gurney appeared. Steve gently placed Peter on the flat surface and watched as it was wheeled away by a team of nurses. Rogers tried to follow, but Strange placed his hand on the blond's shoulder, forcing him to stop.

"There's nothing more you can do for him right now," Strange insisted. "Let the professionals take care of him."

Steve watched as Dr. Strange hurried off after the nurses, barking orders. Steve knew very little about Strange, but from what he did know, even if the wizard didn't perform surgeries anymore, he was still the best shot Peter had.


	5. Chapter 5

May Parker was a nurse. She knew her way around hospitals, and she knew how to keep her calm when something unexpected happened. She was usually calm, cool, and collected. That all went out the window whenever Peter was concerned. When he was late from school, especially after what happened on the ferry, she lost it. When she walked in on him in his Spider-Man outfit, she lost it. When she walked into his room at the lab and he was gone, she lost it.

Even if Captain America hadn't been there to help her, May would have gone out searching for her nephew. Thankfully, the super soldier was there, and had just let her know that he found Peter and was going back to the lab. Steve hadn't said how Peter was, but May could hear the stress in his voice. The only thing she could do as she practically sprinted back the way she'd come was pray that her nephew was okay. Because if he wasn't, she was going to kill him.

0-0-0

"Happy, could you pick him up from the airport? I know it would mean a lot to Tony if he was here, just in case …" Pepper couldn't finish her sentence. Tony would pull through. The redhead cleared her throat, then continued. "Yeah, just drop Morgan off here before you go. Thanks, Hap. See you in a bit." Pepper hung up her phone, biting her lip as she stared into space.

Broken out of her trance by a sudden shift in her peripheral vision, Pepper looked to her right. "Steve," she said, relief covering her face. She'd run into the super soldier after he brought Peter back, who had apparently escaped from his room. "How's Peter?"

"No news yet." The stress was apparent in the super soldier's voice.

"Where's May?"

"I called her, let her know I got him. She should be here any minute."

A quickly approaching figure caught Pepper's attention, and she nodded towards the woman. "Speak of the devil."

"Where's Peter? What happened? Where was he? Tell me what's going on!" May Parker was not pausing between questions, and Steve finally just had to cut in.

"He's being taken care of now, May," Steve assured the woman. That clearly did nothing to calm her nerves, because she began pushing past Pepper and Steve, clearly going to go find her nephew. Steve grabbed her arm.

"May, hold on."

"Let go of me now, Rogers. Super serum or not, I will make you wish-" She took in a deep breath, probably realizing that it wasn't the best idea to threaten a super soldier. "Just tell me … tell me he's okay."

"He's okay," Pepper assured her. May squeezed her eyes shut.

"What happened?"

At that, Pepper looked back at Steve. The soldier took in a breath. "He was out, fighting robbers. From what I could gather, one of his broken ribs punctured his lung."

May stared at the soldier. "And?"

Steve glanced at Pepper. "I got him back here, and Dr. Strange took him. I haven't heard anything since."

"Family of Peter Parker?"

The three of them turned simultaneously at the call, and they saw a doctor coming down the hallway.

"That's me," May said, stepping forward. "What happened? Is he okay? Where is he?"

The doctor held up his hand. "He's doing fine. We've put in a chest tube, and will monitor him for a few days. We're hoping the wound can heal on its own. He's actually awake right now, and is asking to see …" The doctor looked down at his notes. "All three of you, actually."

"But he's going to be okay?" May asked.

"He'll make a full recovery." The doctor smiled at May, but when the shorter woman grinned back, it was more of a menacing than anything.

"Good. I'm going to kill him." May took off down the hallway without waiting for the others. The doctor's eyes widened a little, and Steve held out his hands in a placating gesture as they all started off after the aunt.

"She's kidding," Steve assured the doctor. The soldier glanced down the hallway at May, then added, "I think," under his breath, quiet enough that no one heard him.

May was practically jogging down the hallway in her efforts to get to Peter's room, and the others were having a hard time keeping up with her while trying to retain a sane-person pace.

By the time they got to Peter's room, May was already all over him. Peter looked to the newcomers for help.

"Ma'am, please be careful!" The doctor rushed forward. "His chest tube must remain in place for his recovery!"

"Don't." May planted a kiss on one of Peter's cheeks. "Ever." Now a kiss on the opposite cheek. "Do that." A kiss on his forehead. "Again!" With the final word, May wrapped arms around Peter's upper body, being careful not to jostle the small tube under his hospital gown. She wound her arms around the teenager in such a tight hug, Steve honestly worried that she might damage his lungs again. She let go fairly quickly though, probably after having the same thought.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked.

"No, May, I'm fine," Peter replied weakly. Suddenly, May grabbed Peter's ear and squeezed it, making Peter yelp.

"Good. Because as soon as you're better, you're a dead man, Peter Benjamin Parker."

Peter looked to Pepper, Steve, and the doctor for help, but the three adults stayed where they were.

"Sorry Queens," Steve chuckled. "You've gotta get out of this one on your own."

"What were you thinking?" May demanded, squeezing Peter's eat a little harder. "Running off like that? You are in absolutely no condition to be up and about, let alone swinging through the streets chasing down thugs! What do you have to say for yourself? I would say you'd better have a good reason for pulling a stunt like that, but I honestly can't think of one reason that would make any sense!"

At this point, May's voice had risen to a level just below shouting.

Peter's lower lip trembled, and he bit it to try and stop the quaking. "I'm sorry," he whispered throatily. May let go of his ear and folded her arms across her chest.

During the brief moment of silence, Pepper's phone buzzed. She checked it, then immediately excused herself.

"Wait … Ms. Potts?" Peter said, a little louder than before. Pepper turned and looked at the teenager.

"I'm not going anywhere," the redhead promised. "I just have to go grab something." She left the room, and May continued to stare at Peter expectantly.

At that point, Steve was shifting, somewhat uncomfortable at being left alone with the aunt and her nephew. The super soldier started to turn, planning on leaving the room.

"Captain?" Peter croaked, stopping Steve in his tracks. He turned back to Peter.

"Yeah kid?"

"Thanks … y'know, for coming after me."

A small smile pulled at the corner of Steve's mouth. "Sure, Queens. Anytime."

"No, no," May interrupted. "Not 'anytime.' Captain Rogers, Peter and I are more than grateful that you found him and got him back here. But you," she said, turning back to Peter. "Are not getting off that easy. That was one of the stupidest things you've ever done, and you've done some stupid things. So I'm going to ask you again, Peter. What were you thinking, going off like that?"

Nobody spoke for almost a minute. Peter cleared his throat and stared at his hands. Steve could see the rims of the teenager's eyes turning red as the young man fought against the tears.

"I'm sorry," Peter whispered again. May almost looked like she was going to say something else, but she closed her mouth and let Peter finish what he was saying. After a few more seconds of silence, the teenager continued. "I just … I just thought that maybe if … I thought Mr. Stark would … it's stupid, I know, I just … I thought that maybe he would wake up if he knew people were still in danger. He's … he's always been there if I'm in too deep."

May took in a deep breath, then smoothed back the Peter's hair. When she spoke, it was a much softer tone than before. "I know you're scared, honey. But remember that Stark isn't the only one who cares about you. You've always got me. I know I'm not a super or anything, but Peter. I'm here for you; please, just talk to me." Tears were in May's eyes as well now, and she and Peter were both fighting against them.

"I know May. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Peter grabbed May's hand in both of his and squeezed tight.

"Putting yourself in dangerous situations isn't what Tony would want," came Pepper's voice from the doorway. Steve turned and saw her standing there with Morgan clutching her hand. The captain turned back and saw Peter staring at the child in slight confusion. Pepper continued. "Tony knows he's got a lot to live for. Believe me. He's going to fight to come back."

"Uh … I uh … who's …?" Peter was clearly struggling for words, so Pepper decided to spare him. She picked up the small child walking next to her and carried her into the room.

"Peter, this is Morgan. Our daughter."

"D-daughter?" Peter looked shocked at first, then his face lit up. "You guys had a daughter?" The joy in his voice was almost tangible.

Pepper smiled in response and came further into the room and walked over to Peter's bed. The teenager shifted over, making room for the small child, but Morgan looked a little skeptical and refused to exit her mother's arms. Then, Pepper whispered something in her ear. Morgan's face lightened, and she climbed out of her mother's arms and onto the mattress next to Peter.

"You're Peter?" asked the little girl. The teenager smiled, though he looked slightly confused.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's me." Even in his confusion, Peter couldn't stop the grin on his face.

"Daddy talks about you all the time," Morgan continued, very matter-of-factly. She stopped and looked at Peter, slightly critically. "He said you went away and weren't coming back. He always got really sad at that part of the story. Does Daddy know you're back now?"

Peter could feel the boulder in his throat coming back, but he tried to push it aside. "Yeah. Yeah, he knows."

As they were watching the exchange, May leaned over to Pepper. "One thing Peter always wanted was a sibling." Pepper smiled at May, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You've got more family than you know, May," the redhead responded, wrapping an arm around May's shoulders and squeezing gently. "We're always here for you."

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Parker really should get some rest," the doctor said quietly from where he was standing.

Pepper moved forward to collect Morgan, and as she gathered the little girl in her arms, she looked down at Peter fondly.

"You know, Peter, Tony's done some incredibly stupid things in his life. Most of them stemmed from him keeping secrets from everyone he loved. When he was dying of palladium poisoning, no one knew about it except for SHIELD. He was going off the rails, until he found something worth living for. That was when he fought back, and found a cure. He didn't give up on himself then, and we shouldn't give up on him now." Pepper placed a soft hand on Peter's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Peter didn't say anything, but he smiled at the redhead gratefully.

"Bye Peter!" Morgan waved.

"Bye Morgan," Peter replied, still sounding choked up.

"Don't be sad," Morgan said. "I'll come back, if mommy says it's okay." The little girl looked up at Pepper. "Mommy, is that okay?"

Pepper brushed the hair out of Morgan's face. "I think it's a great idea."

Morgan turned back to Peter, her smile giving off enough energy to power the room they were in. "Bye Peter! See you soon!"

Peter waved at the little girl, his grin's energy almost matching hers. Steve stepped forward next.

"See you around, Queens."

"Bye." Peter shook the Captain's hand with a firm grip, and Steve left the room as well. All that was left was May and the doctor.

"Try and get some rest, Peter," the doctor said. "I'll be back in in a few hours to check up on you. Press the call button if you need anything before then."

"Thank you, Doctor," May said. She was already pulling up a hard plastic chair, more than ready to camp out next to Peter's bed.

"My pleasure. I'll have a more comfortable chair found and brought in," replied the medical professional as he shut the door.

May looked back at her nephew. "Don't think this makes anything better," she warned him. "You're still in a world of trouble."

"I know. It was stupid, and I won't do it again."

"Good."

"May?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

May's gaze softened slightly, and she squeezed Peter's hand. "I love you too. Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

0-0-0

The digital clock read 2:47 am. The room was pitch black except for the glowing numbers. May was curled up, asleep on a much comfier chair, just like the doctor had promised. Peter was also asleep, but it wasn't restful. His fists kept clenching and unclenching, leaving the thin blankets twisted and tangled. Peter's eyes moved rapidly under his lids, as if he were watching a fast-moving game of tennis. Just as the digits on the clock switched to 2:48 am, Peter's eyes opened, and he shot up with a gasp.

May was immediately awake.

"Peter? Peter, what's wrong? Honey, talk to me! What's wrong? Do I need to call the doctor? I'm calling the doctor."

Peter's hand shot out and grabbed May's wrist, though it wasn't hard. He looked at her with wide eyes.

"I have an idea that might … that might help save Mr. Stark."


	6. Chapter 6

"Peter, slow down," Professor Hulk said. The teenager took in as deep a breath as he could with his still-healing lung, and then spoke again.

"Arc reactor technology. Ms. Potts said something about back when Mr. Stark's arc reactor was poisoning him. He created something to put in the arc reactor that helped purify his blood. Couldn't we do that again? Only make it like, a thousand times more potent?"

Professor Hulk scratched his chin as he thought over what Peter was proposing. Peter tried not to stare at the big green guy. The teenager was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Banner and the Hulk has apparently come to a peaceful agreement.

When the Hulk went another few moments without answering, Peter tried again.

"Come on. It couldn't hurt to run a few simulations."

"It's not that I'm worried about, Peter," the professor said. "Tony's element was unique, and one of a kind. Not only that, I only understand about half of what comes out of Tony's notes anyway, and he's the only one I know of who knows the ins and outs of it."

"What if we could find someone to make sense of all of it, someone who could recreate what Mr. Stark did all those years ago? Could it work?"

"Sorry to butt in like this," a new voice interrupted. Peter and Hulk turned to see Barton walking down the hallway towards them.

"Clint," Banner greeted. "Doctors give you the all clear?"

"Me and the family," Hawkeye confirmed. "Just getting ready to head out now, but couldn't help overhearing your conversation. Hope you don't mind me pointing something out?"

"Please." Banner held out his hands, gesturing for the archer to continue.

"None of this talk about Tony's discovery, impressive as it may be, is gonna make any difference, will it? If what I understood was correct, Stark's issue a few years ago was palladium poisoning. This now? This is gamma radiation."

Peter looked back at Hulk. "But we've got one of the world's leading experts on gamma radiation right here, right? If we could find someone to figure out Mr. Stark's notes, could you … adjust it maybe? Make it work with gamma rays?"

"Kid, this is no small feat you're asking," Hulk pointed out. "And I'm only working with half of my usual inventory," he reminded everyone, raising his right shoulder slightly to enhance the sling supporting his burned arm.

Peter stared at the big green man again, only this time it wasn't in fascination. It was a pleading look, begging the professor to say yes. Hulk made the mistake of looking at the teenager, and he fell prey to the puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine. Yes, of course. If you can find someone to decipher Tony's notes, of course I'll do whatever is in my power to make it work."

Peter's eyes lit up. "Thank you! Oh, yes! Thank you!"

"Hold on kid," Hulk said, not wanting to get the teen's hopes up too much. "Where are you going to find someone who can read Stark?"

"Actually," Barton interrupted again.

"You know someone who can decipher Tony's notes?"

"I don't. But I think Cap does. And you do too, from what I hear."

0-0-0

"Thank you again for looking through these notes, your highness," Peter said as he, Hulk, and T'Challa walked down the hallway.

"I'm sorry?" T'Challa looked at the teenager in confusion.

"I … Professor Hulk said … that you would look at Mr. Stark's notes?"

"As much as I would love to help, I am afraid the notes would make no sense to me," T'Challa replied. Peter jumped in front of Black Panther, a look of distrust in his eyes.

"Wait. If you can't read them, who is going to help?"

"Peter, you really should be in bed," Hulk said. "Does your aunt know where you are?"

"Even if she hadn't put a tracking app on my phone thinking I wouldn't notice, yeah, I told her where I was."

"And she's okay with you being here?" Bruce asked skeptically.

"She's not here dragging me back to bed yet. But it's only a matter of time before she does, probably! And you need me! I know a bit about Tony's research, I can probably help decipher some of his notes anyway, especially if King T'Challa can't help us. No offense," Peter added, realizing his tone was more biting than he'd intended. Thankfully, the king of Wakanda didn't seem to be too upset by the almost-accusation.

"No apologies necessary. I am sorry for any confusion I may have caused. I myself do not know how to help you with Stark's problem. I do think there is someone who will. She is right in this room," T'Challa continued, leading them to a door.

"Who is she?" Peter asked as the king opened the door. The question didn't need answering, because the door was pulled open before T'Challa could finish turning the knob it.

"Where have you been?" a voice demanded from inside. Standing inside the room, Peter saw a girl, close to his age. She was staring at T'Challa impatiently. Peter vaguely recognized her from the battlefield, but he didn't know her name or who she actually was.

"I am sorry, Shuri," T'Challa said. Peter didn't know the king very well, but it almost sounded like he wasn't actually as sorry as he claimed to be. He actually sounded … lovingly exasperated? That was the best way Peter could think of the tone the king took with the girl. "We are here now. Are you ready?"

"I was re-born ready," the young lady quipped. Peter's eyes widened at the lightheartedness that she handled death and dying experiences with. Hulk seemed to have a similar reaction, and T'Challa just stared at the young woman slightly impatiently. With a grin, the girl asked, "Too soon?"

"Maybe a little," T'Challa replied sarcastically. He turned to Peter and Hulk. "Shuri is the one who will be helping you. I wish I could do more, but-"

"But he sucks at technology," Shuri interrupted. Peter's eyes widened even further at the audacity this girl had in addressing a king. Peter thought for sure her words would make the king angry, or demand justice, or something, but when he looked at T'Challa, all he saw again was that exasperated look from earlier. Not anger, not incredulousness at her subordination, nothing like that. Just … mild exasperation.

"It is good to see you again, Doctor," Shuri said, addressing Banner.

"You as well, your highness," Hulk replied.

Peter started at the title and stared at Shuri. T'Challa clearly noticed Peter's reaction. "Peter, this is my sister, Shuri. Shuri, this is Peter Parker, also known as-"

"You are Spider-Man!" Shuri finished excitedly.

"I … uh, yeah, yeah, that's uh … that's me," Peter stammered. Suddenly he remembered she was a royal. "I mean, yes … that's me, your highness." With that, he started to bow, but T'Challa put a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"No, please. Don't. She does not need the ego boost."

"Once again, brother, you take all the fun out of things," Shuri said with a sniff, pretending to be upset. At least, Peter hoped she was pretending.

"I will leave you to your research," T'Challa said.

"I have to go too," Banner added, handing Shuri a tablet. "I've got some things to take care of, promises to keep. All of Tony's research should be on here."

With that, the two adults left, and Peter was left alone with Shuri, unsure of how to handle himself around royalty. The princess had already opened the tablet and was scrolling through Tony's notes. She was walking back to a table when she realized Peter wasn't following her. She turned and looked at him.

"Are you coming?"

Stiffly, Peter moved forward, trying to convince his legs to move normally.

"Okay, first things first," Shuri said as she watched Peter walk like a tin-man over to her. "We have to set some ground rules. First, you must address me only as 'Your Highness,' 'Shuri the Supreme,' or 'Your Worshipfulness.' Second, never ever make direct eye contact with me. Third, you must keep a distance of three feet at all times. No more, no less. Understood?" Shuri raised her eyebrows expectantly, and Peter realized he was closer than three feet.

Quickly backing up the appropriate amount, Peter replied, "Oh, right. Sorry. I mean, sorry, Your Highness. Um … is there uh … anything I can get you?" He made sure to not look in her eyes. Looking any lower felt disrespectful though, while looking at anything on her face made Peter feel like it would be too close to her eyes, so he settled on the wall right behind Shuri's head.

"Peter?"

"Hm?" Peter fought the urge to make eye contact.

"I'm kidding. None of that is real."

Hesitantly, Peter looked back at Shuri and looked into her eyes. The brown irises were alight with a mischief that made Peter realize he was dealing with a prankster.

"You … you're …"

"Kidding," Shuri finished with a grin. "White boys are so gullible. Now, what do you say we figure out how to save Tony Stark?"

0-0-0

The two teenagers had been sifting through Tony's notes for close to two hours, with very little success.

"Got anything?" Peter asked, sitting back and rubbing his eyes.

"I feel like we are almost there, but there's something just … I can't figure it out. I know what to do, how to get the element into his system once we figure it out, but it's figuring it out that's taking the longest."

Peter sat up a little straighter. "Wait, how are we gonna get it into his system? Last time, he had the arc reactor that reacted with the electromagnet. He doesn't have that anymore."

"I am aware of that," Shuri replied evenly. "I was going to make some adjustments to one of these." She held up her arm, and Peter noticed a bead bracelet encircling the young woman's wrist.

Before he could ask his new friend to explain her reasoning behind what seemed like a simple bead bracelet, there was a knock on the door, and the two teenagers looked up to see who was coming in.

"Oh, hey. Hey, Ms. Potts," Peter greeted as Pepper walked into the room.

"Please, just call me Pepper." Pepper smiled at the two teenagers. She wasn't the only one to walk in the room though, and Peter forced an awkward grin on his face when his aunt walked in behind the redhead.

"Hey … hey, May …"

"Bruce told me what you two were doing," Pepper continued.

"We're not far from figuring things out," Peter assured the two women. He had a feeling he knew where this conversation was going, especially if May was there. She was going to make him stop.

"Peter," May interrupted, her tone warning Peter not to push her.

"May, please." Peter hated how his voice cracked with desperation.

"I'm not budgin' on this, kiddo. You're going back to bed for at least eight hours."

"I don't even get eight hours on a good night! How about three?" Peter bargained.

"Nine."

"Four-Wait, that's not how compromises work," Peter said after realizing his aunt had gone up in hours, not down.

"Exactly. This isn't a compromise, and each time you try to argue it down, I'm tacking another hour on."

Peter could see by the look in May's eyes that he wasn't winning this argument, but he didn't want to give up so easily. "Please," he tried again. "Just … let me stay down here a little while longer. I think we've almost got something."

"Peter, go."

Peter turned to see Shuri staring at him. "What? No, I can't go, I need to help, I can still—"

"Peter." Shuri placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know you want to help, but you are still injured. Go, rest. If I find anything, I will let you know."

"I can't—"

"Yes, you can. I know how much this means to you. Don't worry. I will keep looking."

With a final glance between the three women in the room, Peter's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Here." Shuri held out her hand. "Let me see your phone."

In slight confusion, Peter pulled out his cell and placed it in Shuri's palm. She placed her wrist against the screen before Peter realized he needed to open the phone for her. "Oh, wait, I need to unlock—"

"Done." Shuri handed his phone back.

"Do-done? Peter looked at the screen, which was still very clearly locked. "Done as in you want me to unlock it, or—"

"No. Done as in I've programmed my contact information into your phone, and vice versa."

"How did you—"

Shuri held up her wrist, once again showing off her beaded bracelet. "Kimoyo beads," stated the other teenager, as if that was supposed to clear up everything.

"So what, that's … that's like your phone?"

"This one is, yes," Shuri replied, gesturing to the third bead from the middle of her wrist. Peter wanted to ask more questions about her bracelet, and how specifically she thought it could help Mr. Stark, but May gently grabbed his arm and began pulling him from the room.

"Okay-woah, okay, more on that later I guess?" Peter called out as he was pulled from the room. Shuri's mouth twitched into a half grin before she went back to the notes on Tony's tablet. Pepper watched the young woman respectfully for a minute before turning and following May and Peter.

"Hey, May, before we go back to my room, I was wondering if maybe we could stop by and see Mr. Stark?"

May looked at her nephew, somewhat incredulously. Peter could tell what her answer was about to be, so he kept talking.

"I know, I need sleep. I know. But hey, at least I'm asking this time, right? Reward good behavior, and all that? Positive reinforcement?"

May rolled her eyes, but she didn't say no. To Peter, that was a good sign. The teenager looked back at Pepper, knowing they'd need clearance to get down to Mr. Stark's level. Pepper didn't respond immediately. She watched May, waiting for the go-ahead from the woman. Finally, May relented.

"Fine. Five minutes, then you're going to bed for ten hours."

"We've gotta work on your bargaining skills, May."


	7. Chapter 7

“Tony?”  
Stark’s eyes shot open, and the hero glanced around. He was … not actually sure where he was. Nothing felt familiar, nothing felt right. And everything was orange. Hoping it would take the odd coloring away, Tony squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. No luck. It still looked like the inside of a citrus fruit. Suddenly Tony remembered the last thing he’d done, the searing pain extending from him hand up through his shoulder. He looked down and saw his right hand, perfectly whole and normal. It didn’t make sense, but then again, he was in an orange-colored world.   
He took a step forward, almost tripping as he paid little attention to where he planted his feet. He was slightly shocked to hear a splash when he stepped, and he finally looked down. His reflection stared back at him from an expanse of water, distorted by the ripples. The billionaire glanced around, taking in the body of wager that seemed to go on as far as he could see.   
Although … there was one object, off to his left. A pavilion. Tony took a step, wishing the structure weren’t so far away, and suddenly he was standing right in front of it. And someone was inside. The person turned around, but Tony knew who it was before she’d even started moving.   
Natasha faced her friend. “Tony.”  
“Natasha.” Tony’s voice cracked slightly, and he moved forward so he was standing in the pavilion as well.   
“Tony, what are you doing here?”   
“I … I don’t know. Is this real? Or am I in some sort of whacked up dream?”  
“Up until now, I thought it was real. But now, I’m hoping it’s a dream.”  
“Why’s that? Disappointed to see me?”  
“Tony, you aren’t supposed to be here.” Natasha’s face had fallen, and she looked like she was going to be ill. “Did it … did it not work? Is everyone …”  
“No, no. Everyone’s fine. It worked. Mostly. Somehow, Thanos from the past got through. We had to fight, lots happened, and …” Tony trailed off.   
Natasha seemed to understand. She closed the distance between her and the billionaire, and she put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tony.”   
“Yeah. Me too. You shouldn’t have had to do what you did.”  
“It worked, didn’t it?” She waited for Tony’s nod, then continued. “Then it was worth it.”   
Suddenly, something shifted in the air. It wasn’t something tangible, and Tony couldn’t tell what was going on, but he could feel it. Something was wrong. From the look on her face, Natasha could sense it too. The two of them looked at each other.   
“Tony?” Natasha sounded unsure of what was going on, but before Tony could do anything about it, the ex-assassin disappeared. Not in the same way that the snap made people disappear, by turning to dust; one moment, she was there. The next, she was just … gone.   
“Romanoff?” Tony looked around, trying to see if the redhead had reappeared somewhere else around him. Unfortunately, Tony found that he was alone. With one blink, the scene around him suddenly changed. His surroundings were no longer orange. Now, he was in a wide open room, filled with nothing but large objects covered by sheets. Not only that, but when he glanced to his right and happened to look at his arm, he found it mangled and bent, more like what he’d imagined it would look like after wielding the infinity stones. With the charred and burned limp also came the pain.   
“Okay. Okay. This is a dream,” Tony muttered to himself. He pushed the pain to the back of his mind, trying to focus on other matters. “This has gotta be a dream. Romanoff? Natasha!”   
“She’s not here, Tony.”   
Stark whirled around, his heart pounding as he recognized the new voice.   
0-0-0  
The elevator doors dinged open, and Peter stepped out almost before there was room for him to squeeze through.   
“Slow down, kiddo,” May said, even though she knew it was no use. Peter was already making his way down the hallway, heading towards Mr. Stark’s room. When he got there though, his footsteps faltered slightly as he saw he wasn’t the only one visiting the billionaire.   
Standing outside, staring in through the glass window, was a young man. If Peter had to guess, he would say the kid was just a few years older than him. Peter made his way over so he was standing in front of the window as well, staring in at Tony.   
“Hi,” Peter said. The stranger gave a half nod in reply, not even really looking at Peter. He did look up though, when May and Pepper finally caught up with the younger teenager.   
“Harley!” Pepper greeted, clearly surprised. “I didn’t know you were down here.”  
“Hey Pepper,” the new guy, Harley, said. He moved from his spot in front of the window and gave the redhead a hug. Peter watched the exchange in fascination.   
The two broke off the embrace and Pepper turned to Peter and his aunt. “Peter, May, this is Harley Keener. Tony met him a few years ago. Harley, this is May and Peter Parker.”   
Once again, the only greeting Harley gave them was a simple nod, though it was actually a full nod, not the half one he’d given Peter before.   
“Hey uh, how's he … how's he doing?” Harley asked, hesitating as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer. Pepper took in a deep breath and glanced through the window at her husband.   
“He’s … hanging in there. He’s a fighter.”  
“I remember.” The ghost of a smile danced across Harley’s lips. Peter wasn’t sure what Harley and Stark had gone through, but whatever it was, Peter couldn’t imagine Mr. Stark not being a fighter. Everyone stood around for a moment, shuffling awkwardly. Finally, May spoke up.   
“‘Kay kid. I think it’s time to get back upstairs.”  
“What? May, hold on. You said five minutes. It’s barely been two!”   
May pursed her lips at her nephew’s insistence, but she held her tongue. It had been less time than she’d promised. She held up her hands and took a step back, allowing her nephew to stay a little longer.   
“Actually May, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. Now is as good a time as any,” Pepper said. May looked at the redhead, who gestured down the hall. May looked back at Peter, uncertainty in her eyes.   
“I’ll be fine, May,” Peter assures his aunt. “I’m not going anywhere.”  
Reluctantly, May finally followed Pepper down the hallway a little. As soon as they were out of earshot, Harley crouched down next to the handprint scanner.   
“Great. You be the lookout while I get this open.”  
Peter stared at the older boy, taken aback. “What?”  
“I almost had the door open before you guys came down. Now, keep watch. Let me know if they come back.” Harley pulled the scanner panel off the wall, revealing the wires behind it. Several of them were already loose, and Peter couldn’t believe no one had noticed anything.   
“No one's supposed to go in there,” Peter said, even though he did nothing to stop Harley. The older boy looked at the teenager.   
“Look. I don’t know you, you don’t know me. But I feel like you’d do the same thing if you had the chance.”  
Peter thought about it, and while he wanted to claim that he wouldn’t, the teenager honestly wasn’t sure if he would or not.   
“Are you gonna help me or not?” Harley was already pulling at the wires again, not really waiting for Peter to respond. Peter looked around, unsure what to do, until he looked in the room and saw Tony laying there, alone. The sight of his mentor made the decision for Peter, and he stepped in front of Harley, blocking him from view.   
0-0-0  
“Obie.” Tony watched as the old bald man drew closer. Hopefully putting on a face that didn’t show his horror at seeing the older man, Tony turned fully to face Stane.   
“It’s good to see you again, Tony.”  
“Kinda doubt that, but hey. Terrible to see you too.”   
“No, Tony, I mean it. It’s been too long.”  
“Since what? Since you tried to kill me? I don’t actually think it’s been long enough.”  
“Still got that edge, don’t you? That’s probably why you drive people away.”  
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stark snapped.   
“Maybe I don’t, but I think I do. There are so many people here who’ve wanted to see you again, Tony. I don’t think we should keep them waiting anymore.”   
Before Tony could ask what Stane meant, a hand gripped what was left of Tony’s right bicep rather tightly and spun the billionaire around. A very hot hand.   
Aldrich Killian stood there, sneering at Tony as he tried to free himself from the heated grip.   
0-0-0  
Peter was so focused on keeping Harley and his shenanigans hidden that he didn’t notice Tony start to twitch and jerk his head from side to side in the room.   
“Are you almost done?” he hissed out the side of his mouth, trying to act casual as he watched for May and Pepper.  
“Chill,” Harley whispered back. “Shouldn’t be much longer.”   
0-0-0  
“All these years, Tony,” Killian stated, tightening his grip even more. “I’ve waited all these years to pay you back for everything you took from me. Now, I have the upper hand. No one is coming to save you.”   
Nothing Tony did loosened the fingers, and even though the arm Killian was squeezing was a shriveled husk, Stark could still feel pain. The agony from the snap was being amplified by the heat emanating from Killian’s hand.   
“This is a dream, this is just a dream,” Tony muttered, wincing as the pain in his arm spiked again.   
“How often did you pray that your time with me was a dream?” a new voice asked. Tony’s heart sank, and the center of his chest throbbed with a ghostly pain as he recognized that voice. Raza, the terrorist who held him captive in Afghanistan all those years ago, stepped forward. Killian finally released Tony, who stumbled away from the glowing red man, clutching his injured arm. Raza continued. “When we first captured you, you begged and begged for it all to be a dream.”   
“I don’t remember that.”   
“The mind is a funny thing,” Killian stated. “It can block out and prevent you from remembering traumatic things from your past.”   
“You begged,” Raza repeated, stepping closer. Tony stared at the man, then sniffed.   
“And what if I did?” He looked at all the men surrounding him, the men who had tortured and traumatized him over the past decade and a half. “Beg, that is. I’m not ashamed to admit it. You fellas represent some of the worst times of my life. Nobody wants those; we’ve all begged for trials to be taken away.”   
“Only this time, your begging didn’t work.”   
“Maybe you need a refresher on the word ‘beg,’ cuz there’s no begging going on here.”   
“No, Stark. You misunderstand me.” Raza stopped a few feet away from the billionaire. Tony didn’t like the feral smile playing across the man’s face.   
“Yeah? How so?”   
“You failed, Tony,” Killian answered. “Everything you did. Figuring out time travel, getting the stones. That was your way of begging with the universe to give you one more chance. And you failed.”  
Stark chuckled. “Yeah, don’t know if you heard, but we won. Thanos is gone.”  
Raza still had that haunting smile on his face. “Yes, Tony. You defeated Thanos, but not before he killed everyone you love.”  
Obadiah cut in. “Rhodey. Pepper.”  
Now Killian interrupted. “Your spider protege. Your daughter.”   
Tony’s pounded in his chest. They were wrong. He knew they were wrong. He’d watched Thanos turn to dust, and everyone had been fine. Pepper and Peter … they’d said goodbye to him. Hadn’t they?  
“This time,” Obadiah continued. “Begging won’t do you any good. Because you’ve got nothing left to fight for.”   
Stark was still reeling, trying to figure out if he had failed in keeping his family safe or not. So when Killian threw his first punch, Tony didn’t defend himself.   
0-0-0  
There was a hiss, and suddenly the door opened partially. Peter turned around at the noise, anxious to get inside, but the gap wasn’t wide enough for either of the two boys to fit through.   
“What?” Harley looked at the wires in betrayal. “Why didn’t that work?”   
“Are you sure you did it right?” Peter asked, glancing between Harley and the hallway, trying to make sure Pepper and May weren’t coming yet. Suddenly, the machines inside Tony’s room began going off, and Peter and Harley’s heads shot up to look in through the window at the billionaire.   
The man was spasming in the bed, his arms and legs twitching, like they wanted to raise. Tony’s head jerked from side to side. In an instant, Peter was in front of the door. “Get Pepper,” he ordered Harley. The older boy looked like he didn’t want to do what the younger one told him to do, but Peter gave him the best intense Stark stare he could (one that he’d been practicing since meeting Tony), and repeated himself. “Go get Pepper. Now.”   
To Peter’s annoyance, Harley didn’t turn and run down the hall as expected. Instead, he just turned in the direction that Pepper and May had disappeared to. “Pepper! Pepper, come back! Something’s happening!”   
Annoyed that he didn’t have as much space as he’d have preferred, but knowing he wasn’t getting anything better, Peter quickly slipped his hands into the space that Harley had gotten to open up. The teenager pulled, fast and hard, opening the door a little more, wide enough that people could get inside. Harley turned around just in time to see Peter slipping through the opening.   
“Hey--how did--what just--”   
“It just opened,” Peter lied. He didn’t care about the disbelieving look Harley shot him before the older boy went through the door as well. At the moment, the only thing Peter cared about was figuring out what was happening to Tony.

**Author's Note:**

> Ookaaaayyy ... so thoughts? What did you guys think? Interested in seeing more? Or should I just write the rest and keep it to myself?
> 
> Lemme know what you think!


End file.
